The present invention relates to a refrigerant recovery apparatus, a refrigerant recovery method, a refrigeration apparatus provided with the refrigerant recovery apparatus, a control method of a refrigerant in a refrigerant circuit or a recycling apparatus and a recycling method of the refrigerant recovery apparatus.
Used as conventional refrigerants of refrigeration apparatuses such as a refrigerator are R-500 comprising dichlorodifluoromethane (R-12) having a danger of damaging the ozone layer or an azeotropic mixture refrigerant R-12 and 1,1-difluoroethane (R-152a); substitute refrigerants for reducing the content of chlorine groups having less danger of damaging the ozone layer but having a high earth warming effect, such as chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22); refrigerants containing no chlorine groups such as difluoromethane (HFC-32, R-32), trifluoromethane (HFC-23, R-23), pentafluoroethane (HFC-125, R-125), 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a, R-134a), and 1,1,1-trifluoroethane (HFC-143a, R-143a); fluorocarbonic refrigerants containing neither chlorine group nor hydrogen (FC refrigerant); the mixture of these refrigerants; combustible hydrocarbons such as propane, butane, and pentane; helium; ammonia; and air.
Because a household refrigerator, an air conditioner, or an industrial refrigeration apparatus using these refrigerants has been used up and for other reasons, the refrigerants need to be recovered from the refrigerant circuit, then a refrigerant recovery machine is used to perform a method of attracting the refrigerant, discharging the refrigerant to the outside of the refrigerant circuit, and liquefying and placing the refrigerant into a bomb or the like.
However, this method is convenient when a large number of the used household refrigerators, and the like are collected and treated in the place where the refrigerant recovery machine is installed, but the refrigeration apparatuses such as the refrigerator in a remote area, the industrial refrigeration apparatuses, particularly medical apparatuses with special refrigerants sealed therein are collected with difficulty. Additionally, it is troublesome and laborious to convey the large and heavy refrigerant recovery machine to the remote area, which causes a problem of an increase in costs.
The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant recovery apparatus which can be used for recovering a refrigerant or a foaming agent by connecting the apparatus to the bomb containing the refrigerant, the container containing the foaming agent recovered from urethane foam, and the like (Freon, and the like used as the refrigerants are used as the foaming agents), and the like; or a small-sized and portable refrigerant recovery apparatus which can easily and inexpensively recover various refrigerants, such as the Freon refrigerants, hydrocarbons, helium, ammonia, and air, present in the refrigerant circuits of the refrigeration apparatuses such as the used household refrigerator and the industrial refrigeration apparatus. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of using the refrigerant recovery apparatus to easily recover the various refrigerants from the refrigerant circuit of the refrigeration apparatus at low costs. Further object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration apparatus provided with the refrigerant recovery apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for recycling the refrigerant recovery apparatus provided with a refrigerant recovery main body containing a solid adsorbent having adsorbed the refrigerant of the refrigerant circuit and a recycling method.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration apparatus in which when the refrigerant leaks from the refrigerant circuit of the refrigeration apparatus, thereby causing a danger of adverse influence, and particularly when the refrigerants are combustible hydrocarbons such as propane, butane, and pentane and natural refrigerants such as ammonia, the refrigerants in the refrigerant circuit of the refrigeration apparatus are immediately recovered to the refrigerant recovery apparatus, so that the danger can be prevented beforehand.
Specifically, to solve the above-described problems, according to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerant recovery apparatus connected to a refrigerant circuit for recovering a refrigerant, which comprises a pipeline for connection to the refrigerant circuit, a valve with a clamping/piercing function disposed on the tip end of the pipeline, and a refrigerant recovery main body containing a solid adsorbent which can selectively adsorb the refrigerant. By attaching the valve with the claming/piercing function to the refrigerant circuit and making a small hole in the refrigerant circuit, the refrigerant is adsorbed/recovered to the solid adsorbent.
Moreover, in the refrigerant recovery apparatus of the present invention, the refrigerant recovery main body is color-coded in accordance with a refrigerant type which can be adsorbed.
Furthermore, the refrigerant recovery apparatus of the present invention comprises two or more refrigerant recovery main bodies so that the solid adsorbent able to selectively adsorb different refrigerants are contained in different refrigerant recovery main bodies.
Additionally, the refrigerant recovery apparatus of the present invention comprises the refrigerant recovery main body in which a plurality of solid adsorbents able to selectively adsorb different refrigerants are contained in one refrigerant recovery main body.
Moreover, in the refrigerant recovery apparatus of the present invention, the solid adsorbent is selected from the group consisting of powdery, particulate, fibrous, and molded active carbon, gas adsorbent resin, clay, active alumina, molecular sieve, bone charcoal, China clay, silica gel, and the mixture of two or more of these components.
Furthermore, in the refrigerant recovery apparatus of the present invention, the refrigerant recovery main body can be structured so that air-cooling and/or water-cooling can be performed.
According to the present invention, a refrigeration apparatus is provided beforehand with any one of the above-described refrigerant recovery apparatuses.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, a recycling apparatus of the refrigerant recovery apparatus further comprises a heating apparatus for heating the refrigerant recovery main body or the refrigerant recovery apparatus having adsorbed the refrigerant, a pipeline with one end connected to the refrigerant recovery main body for discharging a desorbed refrigerant, a cooling apparatus disposed midway in the pipeline, and a refrigerant container connected to the other end of the pipeline.
Moreover, the method of recycling the refrigerant recovery apparatus of the present invention comprises the steps of heating the refrigerant recovery main body containing the solid adsorbent having adsorbed the refrigerant to a temperature of 500xc2x0 C or more to desorb the adsorbed refrigerant, cooling and liquefying the desorbed refrigerant, and recovering the liquefied refrigerant to the refrigerant container.
According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigeration apparatus provided with a refrigerant recovery apparatus comprising a pipeline connected to a refrigerant circuit, an opening/closing valve disposed on the pipeline, and a refrigerant recovery main body connected to the pipeline for containing a solid adsorbent which can selectively adsorb a refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit. When at least one sensor disposed in spaces such as the refrigeration apparatus and/or a room in which the refrigeration apparatus is installed detects the refrigerant leaking from the refrigerant circuit, the opening/closing valve is opened based on a signal from the sensor to connect the refrigerant circuit and the refrigerant recovery apparatus, and the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit is adsorbed to the solid adsorbent.
Furthermore, in the refrigeration apparatus of the present invention, the refrigerants are natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons including ammonia, propane, and butane.
Moreover, the refrigerant contains an index substance.
Furthermore, the refrigeration apparatus of the present invention comprises an alarm lamp and/or an alarm buzzer. When the sensor detects the refrigerant leaking from the refrigerant circuit, the alarm lamp and/or the alarm buzzer is operated based on the signal from the sensor.
In the refrigerant recovery apparatus of the present invention, a solid adsorbent is contained in a sealed container, and a vacuum is drawn inside the sealed container.
In the refrigerant recovery apparatus of the present invention, the sealed container comprises a pipeline on the tip end of which a valve provided with a clamping/piercing function is disposed.
According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerant recovery method which comprises the steps of: containing a solid adsorbent in a sealed container; connecting a refrigerant recovery apparatus in which a vacuum is drawn inside the sealed container to a refrigerant circuit; and adsorbing and recovering a refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit.
According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerant recovery apparatus which comprises: a pipeline connected to a refrigerant circuit; a refrigerant recovery main body connected to the pipeline for containing a solid adsorbent which can adsorb/desorb a refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit; and heating means for heating the solid adsorbent.
Moreover, the pipeline comprises an opening/closing valve.
Furthermore, the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit comprises a hydrocarbon fluoride refrigerant and/or a hydrocarbon refrigerant.
Additionally, the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit comprises a mixture refrigerant, and the solid adsorbent selectively adsorbs a predetermined refrigerant among the mixture refrigerant.
Moreover, the solid adsorbent is provided with a selective adsorptivity by depositing ultrafine particles through coating.
Furthermore, the heating means utilizes the heat of a discharge refrigerant of a compressor in the refrigerant circuit.
Additionally, a temperature sensor is disposed in an evaporator in the refrigerant circuit, and when the temperature sensor detects a lack of refrigeration ability of the evaporator, the opening/closing valve disposed in the pipeline is opened based on the signal from the sensor and the total amount of refrigerants in the refrigerant circuit are adsorbed to the solid adsorbent.
According to the present invention, there is provided a control method of a refrigerant in a refrigerant circuit which comprises the steps of: connecting a refrigerant recovery main body containing a solid adsorbent which can adsorb/desorb the refrigerant to a refrigerant circuit; and adsorbing/desorbing the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit to control a refrigerant amount in the refrigerant circuit.
Moreover, an opening/closing valve is disposed between the refrigerant recovery main body containing the solid adsorbent and the refrigerant circuit, and the opening/closing valve is opened to adsorb a part of the refrigerant.
Furthermore, the solid adsorbent having adsorbed the refrigerant is heated by heating means to desorb the refrigerant, and the refrigerant is returned to the refrigerant circuit.
Additionally, the refrigerant comprises a mixture refrigerant, and at least one type of refrigerant in the mixture refrigerant is selectively adsorbed to the solid adsorbent.
Moreover, the refrigerant comprises a mixture refrigerant constituted of a combustible refrigerant and an incombustible refrigerant, the combustible refrigerant is selectively adsorbed to the solid adsorbent, and the mixture refrigerant is set to an incombustible area.
According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerant recovery apparatus which comprises a refrigerant recovery main body containing a solid adsorbent which can adsorb at least one refrigerant selected from the group consisting of R23, R116 and R508 in a container.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerant recovery apparatus connected to a refrigerant circuit for recovering a refrigerant, which comprises a pipeline for connection to the refrigerant circuit, an opening/closing valve disposed on the pipeline, and a refrigerant recovery main body containing a solid adsorbent which can adsorb at least one refrigerant selected from the group consisting of R23, R116 and R508. The pipeline is connected to the refrigerant circuit and the opening/closing valve is opened to adsorb and recover the refrigerant to the solid adsorbent.